PM troops to Congress for start of plenary debate on RH

PRESS RELEASE
1 March 2011

Members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) together with other women groups trooped to the House of Representatives to support pro-RH congressmen and congresswomen as the plenary debate on RH starts today. Hundreds of women and men from Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) and different women’s groups occupied a portion of the House session hall gallery to show their unrelenting support to the bill.



“As leaders of the Catholic Church hierarchy continue to put pressure on our legislatures, poor and working women, on the other hand, shall be their pillar of support until the RH bill is enacted,” said PM Secretary General Judy Ann Chan-Miranda.



PM also condemned the issuance of an ordinance by officials of Barangay Ayala Alabang against the sale of condoms while it welcomed the position of the Muntinlupa City council that in its review of the barangay ordinance said that it might be violation of the law and guidelines of the Department of Health.



“The officials of Barangay Ayala Alabang are obviously being dogmatic while the Muntinlupa city councillors are being prudent in their positions. The exclusive subdivisions of Ayala Alabang may put as high a wall to prevent poor people from peering but they cannot setup its own rules in contradiction with the laws of the country,” explained Miranda.



Miranda added that, “The passage of the RH bill has long been overdue by more than a decade and Filipino women are dying all through the years. The Catholic Church’s doctrine and misinformation on reliable modern artificial contraceptives did not prove effective in preventing these deaths – family planning, skilled birth attendants, and basic and emergency obstetric care are. We sincerely hope that the bishops and priests will equally value women’s lives.”



“Kung maipapasa ang RH bill sa House ngayong Marso, napakagandang regalo ito sa kababaihan since we are celebrating the 100th year of International Women’s Day this year,“ asserted Miranda.



On March 4, PM will hold a big assembly of women workers on the RH bill and other working women issues in preparation for the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8. PM will commemorate Women’s Day with rallies at the Senate and House and Representatives to lobby for the RH bill. Women groups and PM promised to mobilize daily if necessary to show that the RH bill does not only have the number inside the halls of Congress but also in the gallery and at the gates of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. ###